Guinea security killed 3 unarmed citizens around election

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Guinean security forces killed at least three unarmed citizens, shooting two in the back and beating another to death, in the days before and after Oct. 11 elections, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Clashes between supporters of rival parties between Oct. 8 and Oct. 13 also killed at least 10 others and injured 80, the group said.

"There is clear evidence that members of Guinea's security forces were responsible for the death and injury of unarmed civilians. There could be no justification for firing at these unarmed people," said Francois Patuel, Amnesty International's West Africa Researcher.

Witnesses told the rights group that forces shot a 24-year-old driver in the back as he was walking to his brother's house, and six policemen clubbed to death a 20-year-old student in Conakry. Others told Amnesty that they were also shot at by gendarmes carrying rifles, and their friend, a 20-year-old carpenter, was shot and found in a garbage bin the next day.

Guinea's first democratic elections in 2010 were marred by violence, including by security forces, and saw people divided along ethnic lines.

A new law passed in June was aimed at better regulating the use of force and firearms by security forces.

"Not only must the security forces be provided with the resources and training they need to respect human rights, they must also be held accountable, before civilian courts, when they fail to do so," Patuel said.

President Alpha Conde won a second five-year term, defeating his closest rival, Cellou Dalein Diallo, by a large enough margin to avoid a runoff, according to preliminary results.

Diallo, who lost to Conde in a runoff in 2010, had earlier said he wouldn't accept results, citing fraud, and announced he would protest.

Amnesty International said security forces must show restraint if there is continued unrest.